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The PetaPixel team is in San Jose, California for the Samsung Unpacked event and is working hard on our review of the latest Galaxy S25 Ultra for photographers. However, we did get an early briefing and first look at the latest high-end phone from Samsung and we have some thoughts about the most exciting features.
In North America, the number 13 is hardly lucky, but the OnePlus 13 may be the one that finally pays off for the brand. Coming off a solid predecessor in the OnePlus 12, the 13 takes several parallel steps in the right direction to make it a serious contender for one of the best of 2025.
Why buy a product from Leica with many of the same internal components and capabilities as the far more affordable entries from the other makers? Leica seeks to answer that question with its latest SL3-S, a 24-megapixel design aimed squarely at cameras like the Panasonic Lumix S5IIX.
The post 8 Important Composition Tips for Better Photos (video) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.
In this video from Jamie Windsor, he explores composition tips for better photos.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=VArISvUuyr0
As Jamie states in his video, sometimes a new photographer can be overwhelmed by all the so-called “rules” of photography. Those, such as the rule of thirds, Fibonacci spiral, and the phi grid. Jamie breaks it down for you, using some classic images by renowned photographers, such as Annie Leibovitz, Sally Mann, Steve McCurry, and Bruce Gilden as examples. While this helps to visualize the points that he is making, it is also great to see many of these fantastic images.
The post 8 Important Composition Tips for Better Photos (video) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.
The post 8 Tips to Help Find the Subject for Your Composition appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.
Do you find it difficult to take photos which hold people’s attention? In our digital societies where image sharing is prolific, it is challenging to have people really take time to look at your prized photos. Image composition is key here.
So I want to give you eight tips on how to create pictures that will grab hold your viewer’s attention. People will want to stop and look rather than keep scrolling past your images.
A good composition should have a clear main subject. It might be as plain as a landscape or a person’s face, or it might be something very small in the frame. If the composition is good the main subject will stand out like a sore thumb.
We all have a unique view of the world. Each of us takes in the world around us in different ways. If you have ever been on a group photo walk and taken part in a shared image review afterward, you will know this. Each photographer will have walked the same street, and the number of photographers that participated, there will be that same variety of pictures.
What catches your eye? Why does it appeal to you? You should be asking yourself these things when you are taking pictures. If you choose subjects that you feel a connection with you will create more interesting photos. This is simply because you are interested in the subject yourself.
So your initial choice of subject should be something that you can connect with. My subject of the portrait below is a woman my wife and I chat with at the local market. We connect with her. I wrote about her and her late husband in a recent article.
Because I have this lovely friendship with her it is easier for me to make lovely pictures of her. I know she will happily pose for me. I also know I will get a more interesting photo of her when she is that bit more relaxed and not looking directly at me. In this photo, she was chatting with my wife who was standing beside me.
About the most obvious way to have your main subject stand out in your photos is to isolate it.
My favorite two ways to isolate my subject is to use a narrow depth of field or a dark background. By using either of these techniques your main subject will be unmistakable.
Choosing a wide enough aperture and having your subject far enough from the background will allow you to have your background blurred and your subject sharp. If you are using a camera with a small sensor or a smartphone with only one lens, this may not be possible.
When you have a dark background your subject will stand out, especially when there is more light on the subject than the background. To achieve this look find a spot where the background is in the shade and your subject has more light on it/them.
Your choice of lens can affect how you compose the image and how your main subject will be seen. Sometimes a wide-angle lens is better than a telephoto. Other times you will need a longer lens.
Getting close to your subject with a wide lens has a different effect than if you use a long lens and position yourself further away. If you are not sure about how this works the best way to learn is to experiment.
Try taking a series of photos of the same subject with various lenses or zoom settings and see in which photos your main subject looks the best.
Set up your subject how you want to see them. Move around your subject and study them from different angles. Watch closely how the background changes in relation to what’s behind them. Find an angle where your subject looks best.
Limit what you include in your frame. Fill your frame only with what is relevant to the photo you are making. If you can see anything in the frame which does not balance with or enhance your subject keep making changes until you can no longer see those things.
Make use of something in the foreground of your composition to draw the viewer’s eye to your subject. This technique will add depth to your composition.
Use an object which is in front of your main subject, either in focus or out of focus. This can help bring the viewer’s eye to concentrate more on your subject.
Composing your photo so there are strong lines leading to your main subject will enhance it. The viewer’s eye will be lead along the lines to rest on your chosen subject. This is a very simple, very effective technique.
Diagonal lines used well in a composition can also be used to draw the viewer’s eye to the main subject.
Choosing the right time to take your photo can help to bring attention to your main subject. When you are photographing in a busy location good timing is imperative. Having someone walk in front or behind your main subject just as you take your photo would detract from your main subject.
Watch carefully. When I am in a busy place I usually have both eyes open, rather than closing one. This way I can see more of what is happening around me and my subject and it helps me time my photos better.
Don’t always stick to the rules of composition. Stepping outside the box can help highlight your main subject in unusual ways.
In this photo of the gold elephant statue against the gold wall of the chedi, everything tended to blend together. The harsh light was not helpful. Cropping tight to the elephant and only including half of it draws your attention there. The negative space balances the composition.
Try these tips sometimes. Be mindful of your main subject and whatever else is in your frame. If there are distractions, use one or more of these techniques to draw attention to your main subject and have it tell the story you want.
Having your primary subject stand out will make your photo easy for people to look at and relate to. But more than just having your subject stand out, you need to frame it so that it lets viewers see the subject and scene how you see it.
The post 8 Tips to Help Find the Subject for Your Composition appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.
The post Composition Checklist for Beginners appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Neil Creek.
At a recent meetup with several photographers, during a discussion on composition, one of the beginners commented: “Why isn’t there a composition checklist for all the things we need to think about?” It was a good question and was the inspiration that prompted this article.
You can have the most expensive camera gear and the most amazing light. You could be in a fabulous scenic location, or shooting a stunning model. There are many situations that might provide you with the opportunity to shoot breathtaking images, but if the composition is not spot on, then it doesn’t matter how fancy or expensive your gear is.
The reverse is true also, you can craft amazing images with beginner grade gear (even your cell phone) if your understanding of composition is good. When you know the rules and guidelines, can work them to your advantage, and even push the barriers and be really creative. No one will care what gear you used to get the shot, they will go “Wow, you must have an amazing camera!”
Even though there are many different kinds of photography, whether you do street, landscapes, macro, studio or anything else, there are a lot of basic composition concepts that apply. Not every concept will need to be considered for every image but having a good understanding of the basics will get you a long way.
Truly understanding composition was one of the major steps in my photography making a big step up in improvement. Like every new idea, you have to put some effort into learning the idea, practicing, learning from your mistakes and practicing again and again. When you can frame up a well-composed shot without consciously thinking about what you are doing and why then you can really start to think about new ways to frame and shape your images.
First, you have to master the basics.
First of all, these are not rules. While there are some guidelines you should consider when creating an aesthetically pleasing image, it is entirely possible to ignore them all and still make a stunning image. It is, however, a lot easier to do that when you know what the guidelines are first. So this is a list of concepts you should consider for each image, not rules you absolutely have to follow.
Some things are easy and obvious, or so you might think. Yet the number of images with noticeably crooked horizons you see posted online is a testament to the fact that this stuff is not always obvious, and is hard to learn. Be kind to yourself and take it in stages. Maybe even write your list down and carry it in your camera bag as a handy reminder.
Also, every image will have different elements in it, and different concepts will apply. So pick and choose the ones that work for you and the scene in front of you. As an example, there are things you would do when framing up a landscape that won’t apply when shooting street photography shots.
So be sensible, pick a few that make sense to you or that apply to the way you shoot. Then practice them until it’s like breathing – it just happens automatically when you pick up the camera and frame a shot. When you get to that stage, add some more concepts to your process, and absorb those the same way.
So here is the checklist of things to look for in your composition as a starting point.
It would seem fairly easy to notice if the horizon is straight when you are taking a shot. It is also extremely easy to fix in post-processing, yet so many images are posted online that have crooked horizons, varying from a little bit to quite a lot. Our brains automatically hiccup when they encounter it, so it is a genuine composition issue that needs to be resolved.
You can take the time to set the camera up so it is completely level. When shooting a panorama, timelapse, video and similar things, it is worth the extra effort. For general purpose use, it can be easily edited in post-production.
The horizon is about 3 degrees tilted down to the left – just enough to make your brain twitch.
There are some composition concepts that are fairly straightforward and obvious, like point #1 above. Then there are some that are more open to interpretation.
This point could be considered one of those things. However, I then propose this question to you. If the subject is not strong or obvious then how do we know what the point of your image is?
There are a lot of competing elements in this image, where do we start?
Are there things poking into the frame that distract the viewer? Look for elements in the image which lead your eye out of the frame. Could they be positioned better?
Running your eye around the edge of the frame when composing your shot is a valuable step that can save you a lot of time. This is one lesson I personally had to learn the hard way and it applies to most general styles of photography.
Are there things poking into the frame from outside it that impose themselves on the image and distract the viewer? Are there blurry elements in the foreground that you could move or change your point of view to reduce their impact? Is there half a car or a building partially visible in the background perhaps?
Quite often when you are framing a shot, you are focused so intently on the subject, that you may neglect to see the whole image. So you may miss these extra details that can make or break the shot.
The extra leaf and bud in the top left corner are distracting.
Are there distracting elements like a car parked in the background, or a fence or a house that doesn’t fit? Can you move or change the camera angle to eliminate that element from the image?
This is an extra step on top of point #3 above – putting more effort into assessing the background.
Are you taking a nice landscape and there is a farm shed clearly visible? Perhaps there is a truck parked in the distance or a vehicle on the road you need to wait to move out of frame. Are the colors harmonious? Is the sky doing nice things? Is the sun a bit too bright in the clouds?
This lovely colonial mansion had a very modern hospital and school behind it and was difficult to frame it up to reduce those jarring elements.
Are you shooting a landscape or natural scene? Are there branches, leaves, or twigs in the foreground that could be tidied away?
This is particularly relevant in nature and landscape photography, but still worth remembering in general.
Is what you have in the foreground adding to the image or distracting from the subject? Is there rubbish or stuff on the ground that looks messy? Are there twigs too close to the lens so they are blurry? Can you move any branches or things out of the way or do you need to change the angle of shooting instead?
Look at all the mess of cones and twigs in the foreground, all blurry and untidy.
Do any people in your image have lamp posts or a tree growing out of the top of their heads? Have you chopped heads, feet, arms, or legs off awkwardly?
Often a problem for posed outdoor shots, this is essentially a specific element of point #3 above – checking the background in relation to your subjects.
Is the camera straight, is the angle flattering? Are people squinting into the sun? Is the lighting good? Do you have all their body parts within the frame? Is everyone looking in the same direction or interacting in the desired manner?
His eyes are sharp but I cut his front paws off, not good.
When shooting a group of people, do we have eye contact with all the subjects?
Quite often when shooting people they will generally be looking at the camera. However, if some are and some are not, it has a weird kind of dissonance to the viewer. So make sure you have some way of engaging the people so they look at you and take several shots.
If worst comes to worst you can work some Photoshop magic to blend a few frames together if it’s a critical image.
Notice they are not all looking at the camera.
Are you at the right height and camera angle for the best composition?
Being at eye level with your subject makes a big difference to the feel of an image. When photographing people, the camera angle does have an effect on how flattering the shot might be to the subject.
You may want to push some creative boundaries and do something different for a particular scene. Street photography is one genre where the height and angle can directly impact the story you are telling.
On average most people tend to stand and shoot from that position, but what if you get down really low? What if you find some stairs or some way to get higher up? What if you shoot straight down on top of your subject rather than side on?
Start to think more creatively about how you use composition to evoke a mood or tell a story about a scene.
This image works because I was flat on the shore at a similar height to the swan. Had I been standing you would not have seen the wonderful curve in the bird’s neck.
When taking photos of people, creatures or animals have you focused on their eyes? Do you have catchlight in the eyes?
If you have a subject with eyes in the image that is looking at the camera it is important to have the focus point on the eye. Faces of people, birds, and animals are very dimensional and it can be easy to get the focus point on the tip of the nose or forehead or somewhere else. So if you have a living creature looking at your camera, focus on their eye.
Another trick to make them look alive and engaged is to angle your shot so that there is some light reflected off the dark iris. This is called a catchlight and is important especially for animals and birds that have large dark eyes. Fashion photographers use fancy round beauty dish lights to give a distinctive ring effect in their shots.
The nose is sharp but the eyes are just a bit out of focus which is not desirable.
While the Rule of Thirds is more of a guideline than a hard and fast rule, it is a good one for a beginner to take on board. It is easy to remember and does help you create a more dynamic and interesting image when used well.
So if you intend on using it, add it to your mental checklist.
The subject in this image is more or less in the middle, but if you crop it to use Rule of Thirds the image doesn’t work as well.
Big mountain vistas are lovely. But sometimes they can become bland and uninteresting because they lack a sense of scale to truly appreciate them.
One recommendation is that a foreground element can be used to both ground the image and provide scale for the big vista behind it. Some photographers like to use themselves as a prop to help add scale as well.
Where does your eye go first? Where does it end up? Is that the story you want to tell the viewer?
What do you have in the image to engage the eye? Are there different elements or points the eye can travel around? Does it have contrast? Are there elements that lead the eye out of the image? Are there elements that lead the eye into or around an image?
Does the lens you are using affect the composition in a positive or negative way? Would a different lens be worth considering?
This can cross the boundary between a technical consideration and a creative one. Sometimes there may be a valid reason to use a specific lens, a faraway subject likely to fly away demands the use of a long lens. A tiny flower might be better shot with a macro lens. Telephoto lenses compress the elements in an image, making them seem closer together. Wide angle lenses create a lot of distortion around the edges, especially at minimal focal lengths.
Beyond that are the creative choices. Yes, you could shoot the front of this house with a wide focal length, but what if you put a zoom on and highlighted the fancy door knocker or handle? Is the lens you are using giving a flattering look to the person you are shooting?
A different lens would have allowed me to zoom out far enough to get this entire bird in the frame *sigh*.
What truly needs to be in the frame? What can you leave out?
A mistake a lot of beginners make is to include too many elements in an image. It can be cluttered, messy, and confusing as to the point of the image.
Sometimes that can be used to advantage in things like street photography, but usually, less is more. A strong obvious subject and minimal distraction around it is a very aesthetically pleasing combination but it can be difficult to learn how to frame images up this way.
So much going on here, its a bit overwhelming with no clear subject. It’s a pretty scene but is the composition effective?
Do you want it to be? Not every image need to be 100% sharp. You can use aperture to creative effect by selecting a narrow depth of field. ICM or Intentional Camera Movement adds blur and movement as well. Use of specialty lenses like those from Lensbaby gives you many different ways to add soft focus or special effects to enhance your image.
Many street shots have blurred movement and creative focus elements, either the photographer or the subject (or both) may be moving.
Some people insist that images be absolutely as sharp as they can be, but that is a creative choice up to you, the photographer.
A bit of slow shutter speed on the waves for a soft creative swirl effect.
Some of the items on the checklist are basic sensible things that apply to most images. Some are more advanced technical considerations. Others may only apply if you are considering trying some more creative approaches to your composition
There are many other specific technical concepts that are not covered in this composition checklist. When you are ready for them, you can find plenty of information here on dPS to guide you.
This list is designed to cover the most basic ideas and thoughts that a beginner might need to keep in mind when first starting to think about properly composing and framing up their images. Good news, if you have made the step to start making your images with deliberate intention, that means you already have your feet on the path to becoming a better photographer.
Pick a few key items from this composition checklist that apply to your style of photography and try to remember them deliberately everytime you shoot. Eventually, it will become so automatic, you adjust for them without thinking, your mental muscle memory will have kicked in.
Are there any key concepts you feel should be included in this list? By all means, let me know in the comments below.
The post Composition Checklist for Beginners appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Neil Creek.
The post 4 of the Most Common Composition Mistakes In Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Andrew S. Gibson.
I’ve seen photographers make lots of mistakes when it comes to composition. That’s not a criticism – we all get things wrong from time to time. But recognizing mistakes and putting them right is a key part of improving your composition skills. In that spirit then, here are the most common composition mistakes and errors that I’ve seen photographers make.
The rule of thirds is basic composition theory and it’s important to understand it. But the mistake some photographers make is never trying to learn anything else about composition.
For example, take a look at the photo below. The tree is located on an intersection created by dividing the frame into three, according to the rule of thirds.
But is the rule of thirds the only principle of composition used in this photo? No, it isn’t. Let’s look at the other factors.
As you can see there’s much more happening in this photo, from the point of view of composition, than simply placing the tree on a third. Once you understand how these ideas work you can use them in other photos and improve your composition skills at the same time.
This is a common mistake in landscape photography and some documentary photography. That’s because photographers in these genres often use wide-angle lenses, which usually include lots of foreground detail in the composition.
The idea of foreground interest can be a hard concept to grasp at first but it makes sense when you start to think about it.
For example, I made the following photo with a 14mm lens (a wide-angle on my APS-C camera). I wanted to tell a story about the couple in the market. Using a wide-angle lens helped me include context – the piles of vegetables in the foreground that the couple was selling. The vegetables provide foreground interest and support the story.
The same idea also applies to landscapes made with wide-angle lenses. In the photo below the ruins is the main subject. The flowers in the foreground add interest in the bottom half of the frame.
Sharp backgrounds are common in documentary styles of photography and can help tell a story about the main subject. For example, in the photo below the main subject is the three men in the photo – the barber, his customer, and the man looking directly at the camera.
The detail in the background supports the main subject and helps tell its story. We can see every detail, from the wall behind the men to the barber’s tools and products. These details are an interesting and important part of the photo.
Sometimes the opposite approach is required and you need to blur the background out to remove distractions. Part of the skill of being a photographer is knowing when to blur the background and when to keep it sharp. In some portraits (like the one below, made with an aperture of f/1.8) you can use a wide aperture to blur the background and remove details that might distract from the model.
The mistake I see photographers make is not thinking about these things and taking enough care to make sure the background suits the subject.
The final common composition mistake I see photographers make is failing to work the subject. This means that you take as many photos as you can until you’ve exhausted all the creative possibilities. Sometimes you only need to take three or four photos for this to happen. At other times you may take 20 or 30. Either way, the idea is to explore different viewpoints and compositional possibilities.
The reason this works is that the first point of view you use is not necessarily the best one. If you have the opportunity, it’s a good idea to try different points of view, different focal lengths, and maybe even different aperture and shutter speed settings.
This is where you can think through some of the concepts discussed earlier in the article. A good question to ask yourself is, “How can I make the photo more interesting?”
Perhaps you need to pay more attention to the background. Maybe you need to include some interesting foreground detail. Perhaps the photo would benefit from including some negative space or using a slower shutter speed to blur parts of it. The answers depend on the subject and how much time you have to explore it.
Here’s an example. Below you can see four photos I made of an interesting building, each one utilizing a different point of view and composition. They were part of a sequence of 25 photos I made before I felt there was nothing else I could do.
There are many mistakes that it’s possible to make when it comes to the composition in photography, but these are the most common that I’ve seen. What composition mistakes have you seen people make, or are you guilty of making yourself? Please let us know in the comments below.
Mastering Composition Book Two
Want to learn more about composition? Then check out my wildly popular ebook Mastering Composition Book Two. It contains 20 lessons that will help you get better at composition, no matter what your skill level! Use the code DPS20 for a 20% discount on your first order.
The post 4 of the Most Common Composition Mistakes In Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Andrew S. Gibson.
The post How to Make Brilliant Black and White Photos with Dramatic Composition appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Andrew S. Gibson.
It’s hard to beat the power and drama of good black and white photography. There’s a reason that monochrome has survived and prospered as an artistic medium despite the arrival of color photos. But how do you harness the power of black and white for yourself? The key is in your composition.
The problem with composition is that it’s such a vast topic it’s easy to lose track of the various principles and the ways you can put them into the practice. So let’s keep it simple – I’m going to give you three things you can concentrate on. Put these into practice and you’ll see a dramatic improvement in the composition of your black and white photos!
Simplified composition helps give your black and white photos more power by focusing attention on the main subject.
The above landscape photo is a great example. The composition is about as simple as you can get. It works because I used a neutral density filter and a long shutter speed of 90 seconds to blur the water and clouds. The result is a black and white landscape photo with a minimalist style composition.
This principle also applies to portraiture. Keep the composition simple to focus attention on your model. An easy way to do this is to use a short telephoto lens with an aperture of around f/2.8. Get in close and make sure there are no distractions in the background to pull attention away from the person you’re photographing.
One of the interesting things about black and white is that it brings out the interesting textures in your subject. You can use this characteristic to make your black and white photos more interesting.
This photo of some old wooden boxes is a good example.
There are two interesting things about the composition of this image. First is the pattern created by the repeating shapes of the boxes. Second is the texture of the wood.
The absence of color in black and white helps emphasize texture. You can take it further in post-processing by applying Clarity or other tools designed to bring out texture (such as the Structure sliders in Silver Efex Pro 2).
You can take this idea further by using the contrast between smooth and rough surfaces. Some objects are more tactile than others and have lots of texture. Others have very little.
You’ll see this technique used a lot in long exposure photography, where you can take advantage of the juxtaposition between a subject with lots of texture, such as a concrete jetty, and one that has very little, like water blurred by using a neutral density filter and a long exposure. The earlier photo of two rocks is a good example.
Here’s another. I used a shutter speed of 3-minutes to blur the clouds and the water. As a result, there’s a strong contrast between the concrete in the foreground, the jetty in the distance, and the surrounding water and clouds.
Tonal contrast is where you have light tones and dark tones next to each other. Now we’re getting to the heart of black and white photography! This technique is not nearly as effective in color because of the way that colors that are similar in tone, such as red and green, still create a powerful contrast. Tonal contrast is the main factor that separates black and white photography from color.
In the first (below) there’s a strong tonal contrast between the white and black stones. Your eyes go to the white stones because they are in the center of the frame and because they provide a strong contrast against the black stones underneath them.
Another subject where tonal contrast is used to good effect is portraiture. In the portrait below the model’s light-toned skin contrasts with the dark background. The key to making this technique work is to make sure the background is in shade and that it contains no distracting highlights.
So far both examples have shown a light toned subject against a dark background. But you can turn it around by placing a dark subject against a white background.
That’s the technique I used in the following portrait. I photographed the man during carnival in Spain. He was dressed for the occasion and had even painted his face. I placed him against a bright, sunlit building to take advantage of the tonal contrast between his dark skin and the white wall.
There are many factors that make up a good black and white photo, but the composition is one of the most important. If you want to make a strong black and white photo, then focusing on these three key factors – simplicity, texture, and tonal contrast – is a great place to start.
Mastering Composition Book Two
Want to learn more about composition? Then check out my wildly popular ebook Mastering Composition Book Two. It contains 20 lessons that will help you get better at composition, no matter what your skill level!
The post How to Make Brilliant Black and White Photos with Dramatic Composition appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Andrew S. Gibson.